HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONTINUES EXAMINATION OF REPORT OF UNITED KINGDOM

Human Rights Committee
73rd session
17 October 2001
Afternoon





Panel Questions Government Delegation on
Anti-Terrorism Measures, Efforts to Combat Racism



The Human Rights Committee carried on this afternoon with consideration of a fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, querying a 17-member Government delegation, among other things, on anti-terrorism laws and their effects on human rights; and on efforts to combat racism.

The delegation, led by Joan MacNaughton, Director-General for Policy of the Lord Chancellor's Department of the United Kingdom, said the Government hoped to reduce or end anti-terrorism measures relating to Northern Ireland, but that conditions did not yet permit it. Among the measures were the use of juryless courts. Other anti-terrorism or public order measures applicable throughout the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, were the employment of plastic baton rounds (PBRs) by police and security forces, and arrest without warrant of terrorism suspects, followed by detention of up to 48 hours.

The delegation also noted that the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association were subject to exceptions in national law in the interests of national security, public safety, public order, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The delegation said such restrictions were in keeping with the standards of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UK Government representatives reported that steps had been taken to reduce racial incidents in prisons and that efforts were being made to encourage greater participation of under-represented groups in public life and in Government employment.

The delegation also responded to a series of questions prepared in advance and falling under the general subjects of torture or degrading treatment and punishment; extradition; prison operations and conditions; juvenile justice; arrest and detention; rights of aliens; freedom of expression, assembly, and association; and gender equality.

The United Kingdom, as one of the 148 States parties to the International Covenant, is required to provide periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to implement the treaty's provisions. On those occasions Government delegations generally appear before the Committee to answer questions.

The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 18 October, and is expected to conclude its review of the report of the United Kingdom.


Discussion

The delegation of the United Kingdom, responding to questions put at the end of the morning meeting, said among other things that the country's 30,000 magistrates had been given an extensive training programme on human rights, with emphasis on the European Convention on Human Rights, but also with attention to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A Human Rights Commission existed in Northern Ireland; Scotland now was considering whether to establish such a commission; for England and Wales, a committee was seeking information on the possible establishment of such a commission. The Government had an open mind, but wondered which model should be chosen, as there were various versions in other countries.

The lead responsibility for ensuring UK compliance with international human rights obligations was split between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department, the delegation said. The Lord Chancellor took the human-rights agenda very seriously, as he had been among the architects of the country's recently adopted Human Rights Act.

The Government was considering legislation to make it illegal to incite violence against a religious group and to specifically outlaw other offences based on religious hatred, the delegation said; it was hoped to introduce the legislation by the end of the year. Religious instruction was required in all state foundation schools in England, the delegation said, but such instruction was not to focus on a particular faith, the contents of such courses were adjusted according to local input, and parents could withdraw their children from such classes if they wished.

Unfortunately, there were still a significant number of unresolved terrorist murders in Northern Ireland, of which a few involved allegations of involvement of members of the police or armed forces, the delegation said; the Government also understood that problems continued in terms of public confidence in the police and security forces; all unresolved murders were taken very seriously, and the first priority was to find and convict those responsible, whoever they were. Steps also were being taken to increase public confidence in the operations of police and security forces.


The UK Government representatives responded to a series of written questions prepared in advance and falling under the general subjects of torture or degrading treatment and punishment; extradition; prison operation and conditions; juvenile justice; arrest and detention; rights of aliens; freedom of expression, assembly, and association; the right to participation in public life; and gender equality.

The delegation of the United Kingdom said, among other things, that rubber bullets were not used by law-enforcement officers in any part of the country, but that plastic baton rounds (PBRs) could be used, but only when other methods of policing to restore order had been tried and had failed. In Northern Ireland, where police and armed forces continued to face legitimate threats of terrorist attacks, PBRs could be required in order to protect the lives of police officers and others, in keeping with article 6 of the Covenant, and to prevent serious public disorder; the Government's Patten Commission had recommended that an immediate attempt be made to find an acceptable, less potentially lethal alternative to PBRs; meanwhile there were strict regulations governing the use of PBRs.

There was no reliable evidence that people preferred to file civil complaints over police conduct rather than criminal complaints, as suggested by the Committee, the delegation said; under the new police complaints procedure that the Government intended to introduce, it was proposed that any matter that was the subject of a civil claim be reviewed by the force concerned to determine potential disciplinary or criminal issues.

A change to prison rules in 2000 had introduced four new disciplinary offences that covered racially aggravated criminal damage and the use of racist language, the delegation said; the rules should attract more severe punishments. All reports of racist incidents in prisons were discussed by the prison's Race Relations Management Team at regular meetings. A review of the Prison Requests and Complaints System had found some weaknesses, including that too many trivial complaints were dealt with at too high a level, that in many cases obstacles were put in the way of prisoners making formal complaints about serious matters, that prisoners were given inadequate information about how to complain, and that the procedure was slow and complex; a new complaints procedure intended to address these shortcomings would be phased in across England and Wales over the next year.

The UK viewed electronic tagging and "home detention curfews", used on occasion as an alternative to custodial sentencing, to be consistent with the Covenant and a proportionate way of ensuring that the public was protected, the delegation said.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, a constable could arrest without a warrant a person whom he reasonably suspected to be a terrorist, the delegation said; such a person must be released within 48 hours unless a judge authorized his continued detention, which could be for no more than seven days in total. Experience had shown it could be necessary to arrest a suspected terrorist before sufficient evidence had been gathered to charge him; investigations were to be conducted diligently and expeditiously, and various safeguards ensured that arrest and detention of this sort was not arbitrary and did not conflict with article 9 of the Covenant. There were minor variations related to bail, arrest and detention, and interrogation in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, the delegation acknowledged; orders and codes would shortly undergo a major review that should ensure closer alignment.


Immigration detainees had access to free legal representation and could apply for bail, the delegation said; the Immigration Service was required to review reasons for detention on a monthly basis and to advise detainees of the outcome; a decision to detain could be challenged by a writ of habeas corpus or by judicial review. An applicant who claimed she would suffer forced female genital mutilation (FGM) on return to her home country could qualify for exceptional leave or refugee status, and FGM or any other traditional practice would be taken into account case by case.

So-called Diplock courts, in which judges sat alone, without juries, were introduced in Northern Ireland in 1973, because of intimidation of jurors and the returning of perverse verdicts in terrorist cases, the delegation said; the Diplock courts did not violate Covenant principles of a fair trial; such trials were in open court and all the principles of British justice had been maintained. The Government was committed to allowing jury trials for all offences as soon as possible, but had concluded that that was not possible at the moment, because of continuing risks of juror intimidation and unacceptable levels of threat, along with the likelihood of perverse verdicts.

The Terrorism Act 2000 permitted the proscription of organizations suspected of involvement in terrorism, either within the country or internationally, the delegation said; for example, Al-Qa'ida and a number of other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations were now proscribed in addition to the Northern Irish terrorist organizations proscribed under emergency legislation. The proscription was subject to independent review by a Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission. The rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association were subject to exceptions in national law in the interests of national security, public safety, public order, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

It had been recommended by the Government's Patten Commission that officers in the Police Services of Northern Ireland should be obliged to register their interests and associations, the delegation said; the Police Act provided that all officers must inform the Chief Constable of "notifiable memberships", which were defined as memberships in organizations which might reasonably be regarded as affecting the officer's ability to discharge his duties effectively and impartially.

Newspapers or television stations were free to publish accusations of wrongdoing, whether by officials, members of the armed services, or any other agent of the State, the delegation said; but it was recognized that freedom of expression carried with it duties and responsibilities; the Official Secrets Act placed a duty on certain individuals in positions of great trust not to make unauthorized disclosures about secrets in their care, and such measures were necessary to safeguard national security and were in keeping with the Covenant. The Crown had sought civil injunctions on occasion to prevent individuals who had accepted a duty of confidentiality from disclosing information that would harm democratic society or the country's citizens.

The Government was committed to encouraging greater participation of under-represented groups in public life, and was leading the way in ensuring that the public sector set the pace in promoting race equality and diversity both within its own workforce and in the delivery or its services, the delegation said. It also was committed to promoting equality between men and women and had taken a number of steps to achieve it. The number of women in public appointments had risen by 10 per cent since 1991, and although women were still under represented among senior-level civil service posts, the gap was narrowing.


Responding to follow-up questions from Committee members, the delegation said among other things that there was a general derogation from the Convention standard calling for separation of juvenile and adult detainees in custody; in no case in the United Kingdom were children and adults thrown together with no thought; the problem was with small groups and special cases; wherever possible juveniles and adult offenders were separated, and major investments had been made recently in juvenile centres; there was a problem with young women, depending on their needs, such as needs for educational services; sometimes to receive what they needed they had to be kept in adult institutions for women; also juveniles of both sexes needing to appear in court in some locations sometimes had to be kept in prisons nearby that held adult offenders, although juveniles were kept separately.

The impact on children at Holy Cross elementary school in Northern Ireland of protests of those opposed to their attendance were of concern to the police and Government, the delegation said; great attention was being paid to the safety and security of the children, and the Government was committed to addressing the causes that lay behind the issue; the two communities disputing the matter lived in close proximity in North Belfast, and there was much tension and trading of allegations between them. The public's right to protest had to be observed, but recently, it was worth noting, the demonstrations had been less populous and strident. Additional support was being provided to children and teachers to help them cope with the stress.

Prosecutions under the Official Secrets Act and applications for injunctions under it were quite rare, the delegation said; figures on how often it had been employed would be provided to the Committee later in writing. The delegation did not feel, as some Committee members had alleged, that the Act was used as a way of intimidating journalists. The balance between press freedom and regulation was important and in generally was managed by a system of self-regulation.




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